The Good Samaritan Regional Health Center is a 382,000-square-foot replacement hospital in Mt. Vernon, Ill., designed by BSA LifeStructures. The 134-bed hospital, was completed and occupied in January 2013. Measurable improvements are expected across a number of safety and performance benchmarks established by the hospital, such as:

Reduced patient falls.The patient bed is positioned at a 10 degree angle to provide a shorter distance to the toilet room. This is where some 90 percent of patient falls occur. The 10-degree angle also gives the caregiver more space to treat the patient on both sides of the bed.

Shortened patient visits.Outpatient services have been consolidated to shorten visits by combining prep and recovery areas for all outpatient procedures. Patient walking distances were also reduced by directing all outpatient traffic through a designated entrance.

Increased operational efficiencies. Decentralized team stations reduce noise to patients and are proximate to individual room assignments to reduce caregiver walking distances. The position of the caregiver stations will also influence collaboration among staff, which supports the hospital’s goal of providing team-based care.

The environments at Good Samaritan Regional Health Center combine the calming influences of artwork with multiple healing gardens designed to lower stress. Throughout the hospital patients can view artwork commissioned by regional artists, including a 24-by-32-foot stained glass wall in the hospital’s 100-seat chapel. Each unit of the hospital provides positive distractions through custom graphics based on nature.

Multiple healing gardens were designed to provide views to nature from the interior of the hospital. The relationship between the interior and exterior improves wayfinding by orienting users to the inside of the building with views to the outside. The site’s natural relationship with the building allowed for an open lower level, which provides access to an outdoor dining area, a healing garden, and an abundance of natural light.

The Medical Arts Building, a 145,000-square-foot facility, is integrated to the hospital to provide floor-to-floor access for outpatient imaging and physician office space.

The hospital was built by McCarthy Building Cos. using prefabrication construction techniques that reduced the project’s cost and construction time. The patient room headwalls and patient toilet room were constructed and assembled at an off-site warehouse. The headwalls were installed in about 10 minutes and restrooms in 25 minutes, as opposed to traditional field installation, which can take weeks.